States with the Best & Worst School Systems

Jul 30, 2018 | Adam McCann, Financial Writer

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Securing a child’s academic success begins with choosing the right schools. But how can parents decide where to enroll their kids? Because children develop and learn at different rates, the ideal answer to that question varies based on each student’s needs. Unfortunately, most parents can’t afford to place their children in exclusive, private or preparatory schools that give their students greater individual attention.

For the majority of U.S. families, public education is the only option. But the quality of public school systems varies widely from state to state and is often a question of funding. Public elementary and secondary education money usually flows from three sources: the federal, state and local governments. According to the U.S. Department of Education, states contribute nearly as much as local governments, while the federal government supplies the smallest share. Some researchers have found that more resources — or taxes paid by residents — typically result in better school-system performance.

Unlike other research that focuses primarily on academic outcomes or school finance, WalletHub’s analysis takes a more comprehensive approach. It accounts for performance, funding, safety, class size and instructor credentials. To determine the top-performing school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

Ask the Experts

Giving students a good education is crucial for the future of the country. That responsibility falls to parents, educators and leaders alike. To expand the discussion, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

How will the education policy agenda being pursued by the Trump administration affect the quality of K-12 education across states?

Does variation in per-pupil spending explain most of the variation in school quality?

What can state and local policymakers do to improve their school systems without raising taxes?

In setting a child up for success, how important is the quality of the school relative to other factors (family, neighborhood, etc.)?

In evaluating the best and worst school systems, what are the top five indicators?

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst states for public-school education, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, including “Quality” and “Safety.”

We evaluated those dimensions using 25 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest quality of public K–12 education.

Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Quality – Total Points: 80

Presence of Public Schools in “Top 700 Best U.S. Schools”: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric measures the number of public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s “Top 700 Best U.S. Schools” ranking adjusted by the number of public schools for each state in the U.S. News & World Report sample.

Blue Ribbon Schools per Capita: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

High School Graduation Rate Among Low-Income Students: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Projected High School Graduation Rate Increase Between 2017-2018 and 2031-2032 School Years: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Share of High School Graduates Who Completed ACT and/or SAT: Double Weight (~7.27 Points)Note: For this metric, the percentage sum may be larger than 100 percent, considering some students completed both standardized tests. However, no data specifying the number of students who did so are available.

Division of SAT Results by Percentile: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Division of ACT Results by Percentile: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Share of Licensed/Certified Public K–12 Teachers: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Safety – Total Points: 20

Share of Threatened/Injured High School Students: Double Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.

Share of High School Students Not Attending School Due to Safety Concerns: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported not attending school because they felt unsafe at or on their way to or from school.

Share of High School Students with Access to Illegal Drugs: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported that illegal drugs were made available to them on school property.

Share of High School Students Participating in Violence: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported involvement in a physical fight at least once during the previous 12 months on school property.

Share of Armed High School Students: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported carrying a weapon on school property.

Number of School Shootings (1990-present (May 30, 2018)): Full Weight (~1.67 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Education, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Center for Educational Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. News & World Report, College Board, Ballotpedia and ACT.

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Community Discussion

Quality education in Colorado may exist for neuro-typicals, but not for disabled students. An autistic and schizophrenic has two separate psychotic episodes because accommodations advised by treating psychiatrist and psychologist were deemed unnecessary by school district. Student suffered over six months of increasing stress & psychotic symptoms, which were treated with increasing antipsychotic doses until a psychotic break in 2014 and again in 2017. Despite verified and confirmed diagnoses of autism and schizophrenia, after spending 3 mos in acute psychiatric hospital and 15 mos in residential treatment, district believes student's diagnoses does not qualify as an educational disability, even after second psychotic episode in 2017. Student's IEP (OHI category) calls for speech pathology of 340+ minutes a month to help increase 3rd-5th grade current communication level to student's actual grade, 12th. Student has had IEP since 2016 and not received one minute of speech pathology because the 2nd largest district in Colorado cannot provide a speech pathologist at the school.

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@futbol4distinction

July 31, 2018

How is New Jersey number two? They are known for having some of the most segregated schools in America. https://www.nj.com/education/2018/05/lawsuit_calls_for_statewide_desegregation_of_nj_sc.html